The present invention relates to devices and methods that aid in memorization, and more generally to teaching aids using optical means or masking devices.
Various so-called memorization aids are available that allow for only an all-or-none look at the textual material to be memorized; that is, either the material is fully visible or completely covered, but no intermediate values of the material are obtainable. An all-or-none device offers little advantage over simply covering and uncovering the textual material with one's hand. The present invention, however, facilitates the memorization process in a manner that cannot naturally be accomplished. It allows the user to gradually fade the textual material away as he rereads the material. This procedure makes the task of memorizing more efficient, more pleasurable, and less haphazard than conventional methods, by taking advantage of the fact that as one becomes progressively more skillful at reading certain textual material, one requires progressively less signal to read it.
Other so-called memorization aids require some special preparation of the textual material to be memorized. Contrarily, the present device can be used with almost any textual material without the need to prepare or change that material in any way. Furthermore, the present device is easy to use, and both its operation and its function are easy to comprehend. A preferred embodiment of the device described herein is inexpensive and simple to construct, assuring its practical value.